Brittle
by rhet0ric
Summary: Instead of going to Italy because of Bella's supposed death, Edward has gone because he's regretting his newly acquired love for a more traditional vampire palette - human blood. Bella rescues him, but where does that leave the couple? AU Storyline.


**Bella's POV.**

Adrenaline pumped through every ounce of her body as she felt the cool air rummage through her loose curled locks as her feet crashed against the pavement. Time was running out, this she knew, but she was never going to give up. Not on him. The crowd seemed to only grow larger as her time slowly started ticking away. She could feel the elbows digging into her ribs as she coarsely squeezed through the continuous bodies, but she would slow. No matter how much pain she was meant to endure, she would not allow Edward to die.

Bella didn't care if he had left her or if he never wanted to see her again, she was going to do this the only way she knew how. It didn't take much convincing after Alice had improbably showed up at her door begging for her assistance. Truth be told, she didn't have to be convinced to do anything for Edward. In her mind, he was the only thing worth fighting for. Although she couldn't help but to remember that night he had left her and the many months after.

The dark fog of the forest cascaded around her feet, which Bella couldn't take her eyes off of. She couldn't bear to look up into the eyes of the man, the one she loved, telling her that he no longer _wanted_ her. She could feel her heart caving in her chest with every perfectly musical word that flew from his mouth. Her palms became sweaty as she seamlessly fiddled with her slender fingers trying to assure herself this was just a dream. But no matter how hard she pinched the skin of her palm, she wouldn't wake up. As he left, Bella could not help the fragile tear that fell from the corner of her eye, or the desperation of the run through the woods to try and find him once again. Feeling as if her whole world was ending, she couldn't help but to feel alone.

The months after Edward's disappearance took more on a toll on her than when he had actually bit her farewell. Silence filled her every being, causing everyone to be pushed away. That wasn't her intention, but at least everyone left her alone. She couldn't stand another day of Jessica bickering in her ear and asking questions. That alone was enough to make her crazy. But worse was she saw him, his face, and felt his presence almost everywhere she went. Hearing his voice in her dreams was one thing, but hallucinating during plain daylight, haunted her. With every appearance she ached for his touch, for her body to be close to his once again. Even when she was with Jacob, she felt _empty._ A sort of empty that only he could fill.

"_Stop it"_ she told herself internally, "_There's no need to bring up the past."_ With her words, Bella took in a deep breath and pushed through the last gap of people that stood in her way. Breaking through a clearing, she placed her hands on her knees as she drew in a sharp breath before looking up. She watched as the doors crashed opened and Edward appeared out of the ragged looking building. "Edward!" She called, only to realize that her voice wasn't loud enough against the crowds abrupt cheering.

Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed her feet off the stone pavement, pushing her body to move as quickly as she could. Alice was right; he was trying to get himself killed. She watched him move towards the endless crowd in the shadows as if they were his prey. Moving her feet faster, she knew she had to stop this, to stop him. Alice had been right about everything she had told her. Feet, she now was feet away from him. "Edward!" She tried calling out to him again, but no such luck. Moving her feet faster, she sprinted across the courtyard until she could reach out and yank on his shoulders. At first, she thought that her hand was going to pass straight through his ghostly body, as it did before. Yet as her fingers touched upon his cool flesh, it sent her heart racing. He was real, this was him. She clutched her fingertips into his skin tightly as she swung him around to look at her. "Edward," her voice trailed as she looked up at him, "you don't need to do this." Her voice was almost in a whisper, for she didn't know how he would react let alone, if he would even listen to her. All she wanted him to do was stay alive, whither it was with her or not. He needed to stay alive.


End file.
